Asking for Salary History on Employment Applications

Legislation has been popping up everywhere restricting use of certain questions on your employment application. The Ban The Box question for criminal history, and even more recently, banning salary history in the work experience section which first popped up in Massachusetts.

Earlier this month New York City became the latest to pass legislation barring employers from asking about salary history. NBC News reports that “Equal pay advocates hope the move will help close a gender wage gap they say disproportionately hurts Asian, black, and Hispanic women.”

The city of Philadelphia has issued a legal challengeto this law, which was set to go into effect in that city on May 23rd, 2017.

Although most employers ask for this information, starting salary and ending salary, or even make it required, it could become a thing of the past. However, you can still ask for “Desired” or “Expected” salary from applicants in order to know if they are still within your salary range for the job offered.

Writer and columnist Liz Ryan recently offered advice to recruiters on how to adopt in the “post salary-history era”. Her tips include posting your salary range in every job add, and also asking applicants what they are looking to earn.

How to Edit Your Employment Application(s) in iRecruit
Administrators can edit employment applications easily to remove these questions if the laws affect your company. Go to Application Forms > Edit (Name of Form), and select the Current Employment, or Work Experience section. Uncheck the Salary questions, and click on the Save button.